There's no other way to describe Hughes, who's going into her second Winter Games -- fourth Olympics overall -- and showing no signs of slowing down.

World Cup medals in the 5,000 (gold) and 3,000 metres (silver) this season simply reinforce Hughes's position as one of the premier female distance skaters on the planet.

She also has been on the podium several times over the years at the World Single Distances Championship and the World All Round Championship.

Not bad for someone who has spent the majority of her career on a bike.

An 18-time Canadian cycling champ who has raced in the women's Tour de France four times, Hughes was a double bronze medallist at the '96 Summer Games.

She returned to speed skating four years later -- just in time to skate her way into history.

At Salt Lake City four years ago, Hughes won a bronze medal in the 5,000, becoming just the fourth person in the world to reach the podium in both the Summer and Winter Games.

Now she's a real threat to win her second medal on blades, to go along with the two she's won on tires. And get this: she's not even sure this will be her Olympic swan song.

"Realistically, I've only been skating for five years," Hughes told Sun Media. "I know if I do choose to go for another Games, I'll physiologically still be in my prime as a female athlete. It's a matter of what I want to do."

Event Schedule

Sun. Feb. 12

3000m

Thurs. Feb. 16

Team pursuit

Sat. Feb. 25

5000m

Previous Games

Hughes is the first Canadian to medal at both the Summer and Winter Games.